A Rended Breath of Life
by NighthawkTM
Summary: Ranma/Sailor Moon: Warning: Dark! Tortured by her parents in ways that ruin her mind, Hotaru Tomoe has struggled to live. When those who have ruled her life make a small mistake, Hotaru siezes her chance and flies from her cage. Injured, alone, and dyi
1. Prelude

A Rended Breath of Life  
A Ranma ½ & Sailor Moon Crossover Fanfic  
By: Tomas Megarson  
Email: NighthawkTM@yahoo.com  
Webpage:   
  
Disclaimer. The characters, settings, and places of "Ranma ½" belong to  
Rumiko Takahashi. The characters, settings, and places of "Sailor Moon"  
belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The events, situations, and words of this  
particular piece of Fanfiction belong to me and are in no way part of  
the original stories created by the two very talented people mentioned  
before. There is no profit being made off of this story, so if you would  
be so good as to not sue me, I'd be very grateful.  
  
WARNING!   
THIS IS A VERY DARK STORY DEALING WITH VERY DARK AND MATURE THEMES! IF   
YOU DON'T LIKE VERY DARK STORIES AND VERY DARK AND MATURE THEMES, DO   
NOT READ THIS!  
Prelude:  
Fear  
  
The bell that freed her from her sanctuary every day was the one sound  
she dreaded most. Not the one voice, for that voice could make many  
sounds, but for a single sound that would be repeated consistently over  
time, the bell that ended her sanctuary was the worst. Not that it was  
much of a sanctuary, as there were plenty in her sanctuary who hated  
her, who thought she was strange and evil and tormented and they were  
right. And they stayed away from her, leaving her to her own private  
prison, her own mental hell from which she could never escape.  
  
The looks that they threw her way were always filled with suspicion and  
hatred. And ignorance, for they didn't understand her, they didn't ever  
take the time to get to know her. Had they taken the time to meet her,  
to get to know her, they would have learned of the pain she endured. She  
could barely hold it in as it was. And no one ever talked to her. No one  
let her get it out. No one ever gave her the chance to get help. And so  
she suffered.But as the last ring faded into the emptiness of the  
classroom, Hotaru Tomoe slowly pushed her weak body out of her chair.  
Her shoulder length dark violet hair hung straight down her head as it  
always did, the dark colors of her uniform gave her an almost goth  
appearance as her violet eyes took in the world around her. Hotaru  
slowly trudged to the door and out it, slipping into the hall of her  
school not talking, barely breathing, and doing her best to hide from  
the world around her. Not that she could hide forever. After all, she  
would eventually get home.  
  
As her feet slowly scraped along the ground in her trudging steps,  
Hotaru wondered if she should even call the place home. It wasn't a home  
to her, after all. A home was supposed to be warm, filled with love, and  
a place where one could always be happy. She had a home once, long ago,  
years ago, and she could still remember her father. Before he died.  
Before she was Sailor Saturn, before she was adopted, before she had  
been condemned to eternal torture.The almost silent clacking of her  
shoes against the tile of the school floor as she moved through the  
hallway echoed in her ears as though it was they were the last steps she  
would ever take. And as far as she knew, they could be. But she knew she  
had to go on, she had nowhere else to go, no one to turn to, and no one  
to save her. She wished, ever so desperately, that a knight like in the  
stories would come and save her. But he never did. And so Hotaru walked  
on.  
  
She was outside now, though the sun held no cheer for her. The glare of  
the snow spread through the trees and across the ground in a diamond  
beauty gave her no smile. The sounds of others laughing, playing, being  
free gave her no sense of hope. After all, none of them had to walk on  
her path. None of them ever even cared enough to see where her path  
went. And so she walked on alone. And so Hotaru walked to her personal  
hell. The place she was supposed to call home. The place she feared.  
  
As she slowly made her way down the street, her mind echoed with the  
questions that had plagued her for so long. Did the people who claimed  
to be her friends know what was happening? Whenever Hotaru was with her  
torturer the others would all smile and look so happy for her. Could it  
be that they supported what was going on? Hotaru prayed that it wasn't  
so...but she knew it could be. After all, if those who supposedly loved  
her would do these things, then those who supposedly liked her would  
support it.  
  
Hotaru's legs began to tremble as she neared her destination. Her breath  
quickened as she gasped for air that she needed. Most of the neighbors  
knew she was weak, knew she didn't have much strength, and always  
assumed that these were the reasons she would be trembling as she  
approached home. Her weakness wasn't the reason, however, and had they  
ever asked she would have told them so. No one ever asked, however, so  
no one ever learned the truth; Hotaru was scared.  
  
As she approached the short path that lead to the door of her personal  
hell, Hotaru questioned herself once more. She could walk away from all  
of this, she knew. She could just keep walking and leave the pain, the  
suffering behind. All it would take would be one single step and she  
could be as free as a bird in flight. All she would need would be a  
single brave moment to go into the unknown and everything she feared  
would be to her back and she would be moving away from it.  
  
But again, as she had done hundreds of times before, her body stepped  
onto the known path, the path of pain and suffering and fear. And her  
eyes took in the door before her, the door that would take her from  
limbo to hell. And as she slowly began to walk toward that door, her  
entire body took on a tremble of fear. It ripped at her heart and made  
her colder then the snow around her ever could. She could feel ever  
fiber in her body scream in horror at what was going to happen, what  
always happened when she returned home.  
  
Her small hand reached out for the door handle trembling violently. She  
knew what waited for her behind the door, and it scared her more then  
anything else she had faced. And as often as she dreamed about running  
away, about fighting back, about doing something to make it all stop,  
she never could bring herself to go through with it. Hotaru could never  
understand why she couldn't go through with her thoughts to leave and  
she just knew she couldn't. And so her small hand turned the door  
handle, her meager strength pushed the door open, and she forced her  
trembling body into the house.  
  
Hotaru's now frightened eyes seemed to swallow the inside of the house  
as she stopped within the doorway. Ever so slowly and with a tremble of  
fear she searched for her tormentor, for some sign that the pain was  
going to start, that her life was no longer going to be her own. Like a  
deer staring at an on coming semi-truck Hotaru's large eyes gazed into  
the abyss before her.  
  
The abyss wasn't dark, there weren't hell flames shooting from the  
floor, and there were no demon dogs gnawing on human bones in the  
corner. In fact, the abyss looked much like any other house in the  
neighborhood. It was brightly lit, had a soft carpet, and light colors  
that gave it an over all cheery appearance. There were hard wood  
furnishings, a number of comfy chairs, and some beautiful tables spread  
around the building that gave it a simply homey feel. But Hotaru knew  
that it wasn't the things in the house that were evil. It was the  
inhabitants instead.  
  
And she didn't see the inhabitants of the building. If no one were home  
but her, well, it'd be a few extra minutes of respite, anyway. She'd  
have a little extra time to prepare herself for what she knew was going  
to come. That was far more then she could hope for, she knew, but hope  
for it she did.  
  
She stepped softly and slowly into the house, making as little noise as  
possible. Her hand pulled on the door so that it closed without her  
needing to turn around. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when the door  
clicked shut. It seemed that she was alone, and that she had a bit more  
time to prepare her self, to try to protect her mind.  
  
A cry of pain escaped Hotaru's lips as a pair of hands suddenly grabbed  
her breasts and squeezed them hard. The cry turned to a squeal of  
intense anguish as the hands not only continued to squeeze, but also  
twisted her breasts violently."Welcome home, Hotaru-chan." That  
whispered into her ear was husky and filled with promise. None of the  
promises would be good, however. They were the promises of pain and  
suffering that was shortly to come. They were promises Hotaru was all  
too familiar with.  
  
"P...please...Michiru-mama...no more..." Hotaru's voice trembled with  
fear and was pitched with pain. "Not...no...not again...please..."All  
that Hotaru's begging brought, however, was an even more vicious grip,  
pull, and twist to her breasts. Her tormentor was rewarded with another  
scream of pain and buckling knees. Tears ran down Hotaru's violet,  
terror-filled eyes as she was held upon her feet by the grip on her  
breasts."This," Michiru whispered in a harsh voice, "is going to be fun.  
For me, at least."  
  
***  
  
Her face was streak with the dry marks of hot tears as her eyes locked  
blankly on the dark ceiling above her. There was blood running from her  
exposed breasts, where new cuts and scratches had been inflicted during  
the 'fun' Michiru-mama had. More blood soaked into her torn skirt from  
between her legs where a number of large and sharp objects had been  
forced violently into her. Her throat was raw from the screams of pain  
that she had been unable to contain within, and she could still taste  
the vile bodily fluids on her tongue that Michiru-mama had forced her to  
drink.  
  
Hotaru lay on her bed, unable to close her eyes, terrified of the things  
she saw when she did. She wanted to run away, wanted to hide, wanted to  
do anything except continue to lay where she was. Her arms once more  
weakly pulled at the ropes that tied her to the bed. Her legs were  
likewise tied, forcing her to lay in the remains of her torn bloody  
school clothes spread eagle, ready just in case Michiru-mama decided to  
have more 'fun.' It was more common then not.  
  
Her head, drenched in sweat, her dark hair plastered to her face, tilted  
and fell to the side, resting her cheek on the mattress under her. There  
were no blankets or sheets on the bed; Michiru-mama had stripped them  
off before tying her up. Again she weakly struggled against her bonds.  
But this time she felt it. her right arm moved slightly. Her violet eyes  
gazed at the rough rope that was biting into her risks. Again she pulled  
at the right one, and this time she saw it, the rope slid against the  
wooden fram ever so slightly.  
  
Almost disbelievingly, as though she were in some dream, Hotaru began to  
push her arm up, and slowly, with great effort, the rope moved with it.  
It was loose. Something about that sent a hope to her heart. What she'd  
never been able to do while actually free, now gave her a calling.  
Hotaru began to struggle at the bond, though weakly, she slowly caused  
it to slide up farther and farther, until finally it slid off the bed  
post altogether. Her arm was free.  
  
Turning over on her other side, she stared at the second rope that kept  
her in place. Could she really do this? Could she really get away from  
the pain? Did she even want to?  
  
A loud moan came through the wall into her room. That sound of Michiru-  
mama in pleasure as Haruka-papa pleased her broke the glass wall against  
her heart. quickly, her small fingers began to pull at the not in the  
rope. It seemed to take an earth changing long time, but then her other  
arm was free.  
  
As more sounds drifted through the wall, Hotaru sat up and gazed at her  
bruised legs, at the blood that was still slowly dripping from between  
them. She hurt, oh how she hurt, but this was her one chance, and she  
couldn't let the pain stop her, no matter how bad it was. Reaching to  
one leg, then the other, Hotaru undid the bonds that held her. slowly,  
wrapping the remains of her clothes around her, she moved to her door  
and opened it.  
  
Peeking into the hall, she could see that the door to her mama and  
papa's room was closed, and the loud moans and cries of pleasure were  
still coming from behind it. Moving with a mixed sense of urgancy and  
caution, Hotaru slipped out of her room and closed her door again. With  
a small prayer that she wouldn't be found, she moved to the steps and  
slipped down them.  
  
Her bare feet were freezing as she stepped out the door, leaving even  
her shoes behind. There wasn't anything she wanted to take, or rather,  
she was too afraid to take anything. With trembling legs, she headed out  
into the bitter cold night, stumbling away from the house of her pain,  
the rags she had wrapped around her barely acting as any covering.  
  
Hotaru didn't look back or forward, she just began walking, vowing to  
herself not to stop until she could no longer move.  
  
Author's Notes: Here you go, my next dark fic. Yup, this one is dark, as  
I said, and its gonna get darker still. Cya next chapter. 


	2. Chapter 1

A Rended Breath of Life  
A Ranma ½ & Sailor Moon Crossover Fanfic  
By: Tomas Megarson  
Email: NighthawkTM@yahoo.com  
Webpage:   
  
Disclaimer. The characters, settings, and places of "Ranma ½" belong  
to Rumiko Takahashi. The characters, settings, and places of "Sailor  
Moon" belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The events, situations, and words of  
this particular piece of Fanfiction belong to me and are in no way  
part of the original stories created by the two very talented people  
mentioned before. There is no profit being made off of this story, so  
if you would be so good as to not sue me, I'd be very grateful.  
  
WARNING! THIS IS A VERY DARK STORY DEALING WITH VERY DARK AND MATURE  
THEMES! IF YOU DON'T LIKE VERY DARK STORIES AND VERY DARK AND MATURE  
THEMES, DO NOT READ THIS!  
  
Chapter 1:  
The Hardest Part is the Night  
  
Pushing open the door, Ranma Saotome stepped out of Furinkin  
High School and into the freezing cold night air. A dusting of snow  
was drifting down from the sky adding a meager sum to an already deep  
covering of snow. Even in his thick coat, the chill of the air caused  
Ranma to shiver.  
  
As his feet trudged him through the schoolyard and toward the  
gate, his mind did nothing more then wish for being home. His soft  
black shoes, great for walking quietly, soaked through fast with the  
snow and his toes began to freeze. Ranma didn't really pay attention  
to the feeling though. He was too busy being depressed to worry about  
a little thing like cold toes.  
  
The wasted expression that covered Ranma's face was thankfully  
hidden in the dark from anyone who might pass by. Of course, given  
the weather, that was unlikely. Stopping at the gate that led to the  
streets of Nerima, Ranma turned to look back at the school.  
  
"Stupid detention." His voice was soft, the words muttered so  
only he could hear. His breath, on touching the air, turned to a  
white fog that drifted up into the night. With an almost disgusted  
expression taking over his face, Ranma turned and walked out of the  
school entirely.  
  
As his feet sloshed through the snow that covered the  
sidewalk, Ranma's mind tried to rationalize with the rest of him. He  
knew it wasn't the school's fault he'd been in detention, and he knew  
it really wasn't the detention's fault he was going home so late. If  
he had actually done his homework for once, the teachers wouldn't have  
piled the loads of after schoolwork onto him. Being the son of Genma  
Saotome, however, didn't let these realizations come forth, and  
instead his upbringing shot them all down. "Stupid school," he  
muttered.  
  
Moving far slower then he normally did, and along the ground  
rather then the fence, gave Ranma a lot of time to reflect on his  
life. Had he not been in such a funk, he might have done so. Instead  
his mind just kept listing reasons why it was pointless for a martial  
artist like him to bother going to school. He was so caught up in the  
list that as he passed by a small ally, he almost didn't notice the  
small form slumped against the wall.  
  
Turning his attention to the form, he blinked as he tried to  
work out what it was. Slowly, Ranma took the three steps he needed to  
get into the figure, almost fearing it was Cologne, or worse, Happosai  
with a bucket of cold water. He did not want to get wet in this  
weather. And he didn't want to deal with the old hag, either. It was  
just too damn cold. And he was too damn hungry. Stupid Detention.  
  
Reaching the figure, Ranma poked it, and blinked as it fell  
over onto his side. He blinked a couple of more times before he  
realized what the figure was. His eyes took in the young girls dirty  
face, the blood stained and torn clothes, and the uncontrolled shivers  
that were racking her body. "Kuso..."  
  
Ranma stood stunned for a moment, in shock at the sight. His  
mind went blank as he tried to figure out what to do. Time passed by  
as Ranma stood in silence as his blue eyes stared at the scene.  
Suddenly the scene went bright and then dark again as a car passes by.  
In that brief second of time Ranma got a look at the girl's face, a  
painful and haunted expression painted on it. The look sent him into  
an extremely short lived rage as his mind began working again.  
  
"Tofu! He'll know what to do!" The thought just popped into  
Ranma mind and just as fast he dropped to his knees so he could scoop  
the girl into his arms. Before he got that far, however, his eyes  
again took in the girl's almost naked for. "Crap, she needs something  
to wear." No longer hesitating, Ranma quickly yanked off his coat and  
wrapped it around the girl as he scooped her into his arms.  
  
Despite the fact it was as cold as before, Ranma no longer felt it.  
The weather was no longer a factor to him as he dashed out of the ally  
and down the street, his strong legs propelling him forward. He took  
the blocks at a reckless pace, his feet sliding out from under him the  
times he hit patches of ice, but his agility and sheer willpower kept  
him on his feet and moving toward his destination.  
  
His vibrating bundle in his arms, Ranma skidded to a stop in  
front of Doctor Tofu's clinic and began kicking at the door. "Hey,  
doc, open up! I need to get in, Damnit!" Kicking the door again,  
Ranma's tried to see through the windows, but only darkness greeted  
him. "What the hell!?" Kicking the door again, Ranma blinked as his  
mind began working once more. Doctor Tofu was gone, off to some class  
in Kyoto for a month. "Shit!"  
  
Looking down at the girl cradled in his arms, Ranma's eyes  
tried to bore through the girls closed lids, attempting to will the  
girl awake and ask her what he should do. The adrenalin pumping  
through him, Ranma began to hop up and down, his mind working double  
time trying to figure out what to do. His mind once more came with a  
response. "Kasumi! She borrows books from Tofu! She may know!"  
  
Spinning, Ranma took off at a mad dash once more, thankful  
that the sidewalk was empty and that he didn't have to dodge anyone.  
His legs pushing him as fast as he could, Ranma raced for the Tendo  
Dojo, his home. On approaching the place, his legs propelled him into  
the air, letting him jump over the fence rather then take the time to  
get to the gate and open it.  
  
His landing, however, wasn't smooth at all, hitting a patch of  
ice, Ranma's legs slipped out from under him, sending him and his  
bundle crashing into the snow covered ground. His head slammed into  
the hard packed solid water, dizzying him for a brief second. His  
arms managed to keep their grip on his bundle and prevented the girl  
from hitting anything other then his chest. With a feat of dexterity,  
Ranma scrambled to his feet without using his hands and moved quickly  
to the door.  
  
Kicking at the door once more, Ranma waited for someone to let  
him in. When no one came, he grimaced and shifted his grip on the  
girl slightly, freeing up one hand so that he could open the door.  
  
"Kasumi!" Ranma's voice screamed into the house as he went  
through the door. What greeted him were a dark living room and a  
silent house. "Damnit, where is everyone!?" Ranma kicked backward  
closing the door and rushed his way into the house, stumbling over a  
piece of furniture as he moved through the living room and to the  
kitchen. Making his way into Kasumi's domain with his bundle, he  
blinked in complete puzzlement as a quiet and dark kitchen greeted  
him. "What the..." Ranma trailed off as another memory made its way  
back to him. "The restaurant! Damn, they're all there!"  
  
Ranma's eyes turned to his bundle, difficult to see in the  
dark house. Though his vision of the girl was limited, he could still  
feel her shaking in his arms. "Kami-sama, she's freezing. I gotta  
get her warm, but how?"  
  
Even as Ranma asked that, he felt a shift, and his perception  
changed slightly as the snow that had been clinging to his finally  
turned to cold water and triggered his curse. "Now of all time. Damn  
I need...that's it, hot water! The furo, that'll warm her up!"  
  
Having a plan finally, Ranma dashed out of the kitchen and up  
the stairs, leading to the Tendo's furo. He raced into the dark  
changing area, shifting and kicking back with his leg, his foot  
catching the light switch and brightening both the changing room and  
the furo proper. Quickly making his way to the tub, he deposited the  
girl in it and unwrapped his coat from around the girl before turning  
the water on, beginning to fill the tub with a mixture of hot and cool  
water, praying he didn't make it so hot it hurt the girl more.  
  
As the water heated up, Ranma reached out and splashed some  
onto his face, changing him back into his true male form. As he did  
so, he noticed that his arms were shaking uncontrollably. "Damn I'm  
cold," he muttered. Looking at the hot water that was filling the  
furo, he hoped the girl wouldn't mind if she woke and submerged his  
arms in the water, gritting his teeth at the pain it caused him.  
  
As his arms began to warm up, Ranma took his first good look  
at the girl. Her clothes were dirty and torn, bloodstains covering a  
good portion of them. Her shirt seemed to be more like ribbons then  
actual clothing, and as the hot water began to cover the girl's body,  
he could see her skirt begin to soften as the ice melted away.  
Thankful that the girl's body wasn't sliding down and bringing her  
head under the water, Ranma pulled his arms out and turned the water  
off.  
  
Turning his body and leaning back against the wall, Ranma  
closed his eyes and wondered just what he was going to do now.  
Leaving the furo was the smart thing to do, for him, anyway. If the  
Tendo's came home and saw him here with a girl in the tub, it'd be  
hell to explain. Given the shape the girl was in, though, made it a  
bad move for him to leave. If she had problems he wouldn't be around  
to help her.  
  
"Kami," Ranma whispered, "why does this happen to me?"  
  
Opening his eyes, Ranma turned his attention back to the girl.  
"Damn, and who'd hurt a kid like that?" Looking a bit more, Ranma  
asked himself, "And why is the water red?" He pondered that for a  
moment before shooting to his feet. "Damn, she's bleeding!"  
  
Reaching into the tub, Ranma quickly pulled the girl out and  
laid her out on the floor. Looking at the girl, he grimaced as the  
only wounds he could see went back under the shredded remains of the  
girl's clothes. A feeling of dread filled Ranma as his slightly  
shaking hands grabbed the girl's shirt and quickly pulled the remains  
apart exposing the girl. The sight that greeted him caused a deep  
rage to fill him.  
  
The girl's chest was covered in a mass of welts, poorly healed  
scars, bruises, and fresh cuts that were bleeding. Her stomach had a  
few faint bruises and a thin cut running up from the remains of the  
girl's skirt. Fighting away the anger, Ranma grabbed a nearby towel  
and pressed it as hard as he dared against the girl's open wounds.  
"Damn, this isn't going to work," Ranma muttered to himself.  
  
Gathering his legs under him, Ranma shifted his body so that  
he was facing the door. Kasumi's first aid kit was just through the  
doorway and on the right, and he wanted to get it and back as fast as  
he could. Dashing out of the furo room and into the changing room,  
Ranma's left hand reached out and grabbed the doorframe, halting his  
motion while his right hand snapped out grabbing the first aid kit  
from its resting place. His left arm then pulled taunt, almost  
hurling him back to where the girl lay on the floor.  
  
Dropping and sliding the last few feet on his knees, Ranma  
tore the lid off the kit, his hands deftly removing the familiar  
contents. The disinfectant came first, a clear liquid in a brown  
bottle that hurt like hell when used. Grabbing some cotton balls,  
Ranma opened the bottle and soaked them in the disinfectant before  
putting the bottle aside.  
  
Removing the towels, Ranma slowly began to clean the various  
wounds, stopping after each individual cut so that he could apply  
bandages to them. He was thankful that the girl wasn't awake to feel  
what was most probably a lot of pain. He was also relieved that she  
wasn't awake to call him a pervert and hit him with a table. As he  
finished cleaning the girl up, he grimaced, sure that Akane would get  
around to that later. Looking at the bloody mess he'd made of the  
bathroom, turned his gave to the girl's face, trying his best to  
ignore her nude state. The sound of chattering teeth slowly filled  
the room as the girl continued to freeze.  
  
Sliding over a few feet to the furo, Ranma yanked out the plug  
and allowed the bloodied water to begin to drain. Turning back to the  
girl, he could see her visibly start to shiver. Not really thinking,  
Ranma finally tore off his winter coat, which was stained in places by  
the girl's blood, and then removed the clean white shirt he had been  
wearing underneath. As quick and as gentle as he could, Ranma dressed  
the girl in his shirt, immensely glad that it was long enough to  
almost reach the girl's knees. Continuously seeing the girl almost  
naked had been putting an extreme strain on his mental state to keep  
him from fainting. Glancing back at the furo and seeing it finally  
empty, Ranma re-plugged it, and turned the water back on to begin  
filling it once more with the hot liquid.  
  
Moving back to the girl, Ranma gently picked her up and placed  
her back into the filling furo, hoping that the warm water would help  
her. Sitting down on the edge of the furor, Ranma watched as the  
water slowly filled up, his mostly fried mind taking these few moments  
to blank out and cease functioning. As he watched the water rise up  
to the girl's chin, Ranma reached out and turned it off, keeping an  
eye open for the water to change color again showing that the girl was  
still bleeding somewhere.  
  
Turning his attention back to the girl's face, Ranma blinked  
as he saw the water was now up to her lips. Turning to look at the  
faucet he saw it was still turned off. Thinking for a few moments, he  
turned to see the water had now moved up to the girl's nose. Even as  
it hit him like a ton of bricks, Ranma practically dove for the girl  
to keep her from sliding under. Not really sure what else to do,  
Ranma wrapped an arm around the girl and under her far arm to help  
keep her head above the water so she could breath.  
  
Sitting with his back against the wall, a tired sigh was  
released from Ranma's lips as he wondered just how much longer this  
day could get for him. A rumble from his stomach reminded Ranma that  
he hadn't gotten a chance to eat since breakfast. Turning his  
attention to the girl, Ranma wondered when the last time she had eaten  
had been. The haunted expression which she wore when he had found her  
still covered her unconscious face, and the beating it had been clear  
she'd taken didn't seem like it'd have allowed her to keep what she  
might have eaten before it happened in her. The poor girl's stomach,  
when he had been able to see it, seemed to be one large bruise.  
  
Shaking his head in disgust, Ranma looked at the girl again,  
and was taken by surprise to see her eyes blinking open. A low moan  
of pain came from the girl's throat as Ranma continued to hold her and  
his mind wandered what to do. Ever so slowly as though time thought  
to stop drifting forward, her soft violet eyes came into focus, and  
her head tilted slightly so she could see Ranma.  
  
Then she screamed.  
  
The girl's voice was rough and horse, but it still had the  
effect of Ranma throwing himself away from the girl, his hands coming  
up and waving franticly. "Calm down, calm down! I ain't gonna hurt  
ya.!"  
  
The screaming went on for only a short time longer, and Ranma  
was unsure whether it was his words that did it, or if it just hurt  
the girl too much to scream. He remained on the far side of the room  
where the girl could see him and where he hopefully didn't seem  
threatening. After a bit of time of silence, Ranma finally dared to  
speak. "I found ya in an ally earlier. Doc Tofu is outta town or I'd  
have taken you there. Sorry about this." He paused for a second  
before continuing, "I'm Ranma."  
  
The girl finally turned her head away from him, and he could  
tell she was struggling with something. Something quiet came from  
between her slightly moving lips, but he couldn't hear what she had  
said. He remained quiet, wondering what it was when her lips moved  
again, her soft voice barely reaching his ears.  
  
"I'm...I am...I'm...Hotaru."  
  
A silence once again grew between the two as both were at a  
loss as to what to say. Ranma struggled in his own mind to find  
something that wouldn't sound horrid at that moment when Hotaru spoke  
to him again. "Thank you. For saving me, I mean."  
  
"Umm...you're welcome." As the girl looked to him once more,  
Ranma knew he had to say something. "I, uh, I'm sorry about the  
shirt. Your's was...umm..." Ranma's glanced to the blood soaked  
clothes and towel, and suddenly a blush grew on his face as his mind  
chose that moment to recall he'd seen Hotaru naked...that he'd touched  
her...and dressed her...he was starting to think his head would  
explode from all the blood rushing to it.  
  
For her own part, Hotaru looked to where Ranma had glanced and  
realized just what the bloody rags were. It then hit her just as fast  
that she was out of them and why Ranma was blushing so bad. Just as  
quickly a blush of her own formed, as deep red as a freshly picked  
apple. "You..." her voice was again a whisper, and her blush deepened  
more as she saw Ranma had moved somewhat closer to her so he could  
hear her.  
  
"Yeah," Ranma's voice was tight and he nodded slightly, trying  
to banish the images from his mind. Damn, but this was worse then  
that time he'd seen Akane naked. "you were bleeding and stuff. I  
could let ya die, ya know? And no one else's home."  
  
There was another silence between them before Hotaru's voice  
quietly filled up the room. "Thank-you."  
  
"Uh...yeah." Ranma nodded and again shifted a bit closer to  
the girl, his ears starting to tire from the strain of hearing her  
speak. "So, uh, what happened to ya? Gah, I'm sorry, I don't wanna  
pry or nothin'."  
  
Before Hotaru could respond, however, the cry of another  
female filled the furo. "RANMA! HOW DARE YOU!"  
  
Ranma spun around, still sitting on the ground, to see an  
insanely angry Akane staring at him. His hands immediately came up in  
a warding gesture as he stumbled over the words he tried to speak.  
"A..Akane...it ain't what it looks like! Listen to me, it ain't like  
it seems..."  
  
"Ranma...how dare you cheat on me in my own house! Aren't  
those other floozies enough for you!" In her anger, Akane had torn a  
shelf out of the wall and was holding it over her head in preparation  
to smite Ranma as she stalked forward. Her advance and anger were  
both halted when the girl behind Ranma screamed, her entire features  
moving to terror.  
  
"NO! Don't hurt me like mommy! I'll be a good girl, DON'T  
HURT ME LIKE MOMMY! PLEASE!"  
  
Akane stared at the scene, the shelf falling limply from her  
hands and landing on the floor behind her. She could see the  
terrified look on Ranma's face as he suddenly started waving his hands  
at her to back up.  
  
With her anger gone, Akane could finally see the bloody  
clothes and towel in the corner. She nodded to Ranma and slowly  
backed out of the room as the crying continued until she was in the  
hallway and shut the door.  
  
With a sigh of relief, Ranma turned to the crying girl and  
promptly freaked out again. "Gah! Don't do that! Hey, Hotaru, don't  
cry, no one's gonna hurt ya." Moving the rest of the way to the furo,  
Ranma reached out and put a hand on the girl's shoulder in an attempt  
to comfort her. He wasn't really prepared when the girl threw herself  
at him, burying her head into his bare chest.  
  
Ranma remained on his knees stiff and unsure what to do.  
Finally, slowly, he wrapped his arms around the trembling girl.  
Quietly he began speaking softly to the girl, not really paying  
attention to what words he was saying as they flowed from his lips.  
As Hotaru trembled in his arms he just kept holding her and doing his  
best to make his voice sound soothing.  
  
When the trembling finally stopped, Ranma pulled himself back  
from Hotaru a bit so he could see her tear stained face. Seeing that  
the tears had finally stopped flowing Ranma spoke softly and with  
purpose for once. "You gonna be okay alone for a bit? I gotta go  
talk to the Pop and the Tendo's." Seeing the girl slowly nod, Ranma  
fully let her go and stood up. "I'll be back soon, and get ya some  
dry clothes to wear. Just wait here, okay?" Seeing Hotaru nod again,  
Ranma turned and slowly walked out of the furo and changing room and  
into the hall.  
  
Looking around, Ranma had somewhat hoped Akane had waited here  
for him, but with no one in site he turned for the stairs, only to  
pause and dash into his room to throw on a shirt. Leaving his room,  
Ranma made for the stairs and slowly walked down them and into the  
Tendo's living room.  
  
"Boy! What's this about you with a strange girl in the  
furo!?"  
  
Turning to face his overweight and bald father, Ranma rolled  
his eyes. "Don't go think nothing dumb, pops. I found her freezing  
to death near school. Since the Docs outta town, I had to bring her  
here."  
  
"Saving a girl from the cold, how manly of you Ranma!"  
  
Turning around, Ranma faced his mother, swallowing slightly as  
some bad memories came forward, but they were quickly crushed. "Hey  
mom, what're you doing here?"  
  
"You were supposed to join us for dinner, and didn't. I  
wanted to see my son. Is that so wrong?" A slight edge entered  
Nodoka's voice.  
  
"No, no, not at all mom. I love seeing you!"  
  
So, Ranma," came a voice to his side now. Ranma turned so he  
could see Nabiki as she spoke. The middle Tendo sister ran a hand  
through her page cut brown hair as she spoke. "Akane said there was a  
pile of bloody clothes. What happened to the girl?"  
  
With a sigh Ranma shook his head. "I don't really know.  
Akane jumped in just as I started to ask Hotaru. That's the girl's  
name." A sick look came to Ranma's face. "From her crying though, I  
think her mother did it to her."  
  
A gasp caused Ranma to turn and look at the oldest Tendo  
daughter, Kasumi. Her face being framed by her long brown hair held a  
slightly pained look. "Kasumi, could you go help Hotaru?" Ranma  
asked. "You're so nice you're probably the best for it. "Turning to  
face his fiancée, Ranma spoke to Akane, "Could you find some clothes  
for her? She's somewhat shorter then you are." Both of the sisters  
nodded and headed up the stairs.  
  
Finally feeling relief over the entire situation, Ranma almost  
collapsed, when Nabiki grabbed Ranma by the arm and started pulling  
him to the kitchen. "I need to talk to you Ranma. Now."  
  
"What, hey, Nabiki, let go! I know how to walk, and I ain't  
like Ryoga and gonna get lost."  
  
Ignoring the protest, Nabiki pulled Ranma into the Kitchen and  
toward the back of the room to keep them out of the way of  
eavesdroppers. "Ranma, be quiet and listen."  
  
With a frustrated sigh, Ranma looked at Nabiki. "What?"  
  
"Its good that you helped the girl and all, but this could be  
bad." Nabiki raised a hand to stop Ranma's protests. "If this girl's  
mother..."  
  
"Hotaru."  
  
"Fine." Nabiki's voice gained some frustration. "If Hotaru's  
mother really did this to her, she could go to the cops and claim you  
kidnapped her. There are a number of drugs out there that effect  
short term memory and it probably wouldn't be very hard for a decent  
lawyer to convince people that you're the one who did this."  
  
"Nabiki, that's insane!" Ranma was completely shocked and a  
bit disturbed by the suggestion.  
  
"I know Ranma, but it could happen. Its best you convince  
this girl," seeing Ranma's face darken slightly, Nabiki changed it,  
"Hotaru to go to the police first. This isn't some martial arts fight  
you can win with your fists, its serious."  
  
As Nabiki's point broke through, Ranma's shoulders slumped.  
"I know, I know. I'll do what I can, okay?"  
  
"Alright." Then Nabiki's face changed once more, and Ranma  
was surprise to see some concern form on it. "Are you okay? You've  
been acting strange."  
  
"What do ya mean strange?"  
  
"Don't get offended." Nabiki's voice took on an almost  
calming quality that took Ranma back yet again. Hearing such a voice  
from the 'Ice Queen' was certainly different. "You eyes are  
almost...frightening."  
  
That caused Ranma to stop and examine himself for a moment.  
Finally, he shook his head. "No, I'm not alright. You didn't see  
Hotaru, Nabiki. I had to bandage all of her cuts, and there were a  
lot. I didn't even look that bad after the Neko-ken training. I want  
to find whoever did this and hurt them, a lot."  
  
"Just don't loose control here, okay? We can't afford the  
repairs."  
  
"I won't. We got school tomorrow. I'll beat up on Kuno, and  
get some of this out of me." Ranma shook his head and gave a tired  
sigh. "Its early, but I'm beat. I'm gonna check on Hotaru and then  
go to bed. Night Nabiki."  
  
"Sleep well, Saotome."  
  
As Ranma left the room, Nabiki stared at his back. She  
couldn't recall Ranma being so defensive of anyone other then Akane.  
She wondered if the girl...Hotaru was really in as bad a shape as  
Ranma said.  
  
***  
  
Reaching the top of the stairs, Ranma blinked as he saw Akane  
and Kasumi standing in the hall, both of them ashen faced. "What's  
wrong?"  
  
Kasumi's lips moved without saying anything, but Akane  
replied, "We can't go in there. If either of us does, she starts  
screaming and crying again." Akane was clearly shaken by the  
experience. She thrust out the clothes she held to Ranma. "Here, you  
give them to her." Akane's shaken gaze turned to slight anger for a  
moment. "You've already seen her naked, right?"  
  
Ranma's hands came up defensively. "Hey, she was bleeding to  
death, Akane. I had to do something!"  
  
The tired sigh that came from Akane surprised Ranma. "I know,  
I saw the clothes. I...guess I don't blame you." After slowly  
depositing the clothes into Ranma's hands, Akane turned and walked  
almost Zombie like down the hall. "I'm going to my room."  
  
Ranma watched as Akane left, with Kasumi silently heading to  
her own room after her. In somewhat of a shock as well, Ranma opened  
the furo door and walked in. He immediately saw Hotaru through the  
next door and still in the furo. As he took the steps needed to take  
him through the changing room, he saw that she was slightly crying  
again. Walking over to her, he bent down and again after tossing the  
clean clothes aside, he wrapped his arms around her.  
  
Hotaru latched onto Ranma for a few moments, crying out her  
tears before speaking in a harsh whisper. "I'm sorry. They came in  
and...and...I saw mommy's face, and I was scared...I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay, Hotaru, they'll understand." Ranma kept his voice  
soft as he spoke. "They'll understand, Hotaru."  
  
"They...they won't be angry, will they?"  
  
Ranma shook his head. "They're not angry at all, Hotaru. A  
bit sad, but not angry. They'll be over it by morning." At least,  
Ranma hoped they would be. He wasn't really sure what to do with  
either of them. "Are you hungry?" he asked, instead.  
  
"No...but I'm sleepy."  
  
Ranma nodded his head, and slowly helped Hotaru up and out of  
the furo. "I've got ya some clean clothes. After ya get changed I'll  
help ya to me and pop's room. You can sleep with us in there tonight.  
We're both highly trained martial artists, so you'll be completely  
safe, I promise."  
  
After Hotaru's nod, Ranma pointed her to the clean clothes and  
turned his back so she could change in some privacy. He was sure this  
would be a long night for her, but he wanted her to feel safe.  
  
Author's Notes: Well, there we are, chapter 1 is finished. This  
isn't going to be all that happy a story, as I'm sure you can tell by  
now. Anyway, let me know what you think about it. 


End file.
